we're also following breaking news in london. just minutes ago, princess catherine left the hospital. we'll have an update ahead. new information about metro's plans and how riders who use the other lines will be impacted. good morning. and welcome to "news4 today." i'm eun yang. >> and i'm richard jordan in for aaron gilchrest. we are waking up to a dramatic temperature drop. it's starting to feel more like december, and tonight it will look more like it, too, especially down by the white house. the national tree will be lit tonight. more on what to expect in a few minutes. >> if you are one of the lucky ones to be going out there, bundle ul. full on coat, clothes, everything else you can find in your closet. >> santa called me yesterday, he said i'm coming to washington for this tree lighting ceremony, if you want to -- >> and you've got to listen to santa. >> that's right. so we're going to deliver. and we have had it turn a lot colder overnight. good morning, starting off with temperatures below freezing.

much of the region is down into the 20s in much of fairfax county and montgomery and prince george's county. much of arlington county is near 30. much of the rest of the district is at our below freezing and it's a bit milder. of course, right along the potomac and the bail. also below freezing from the mountains all the way to the atlantic beaches. we have a clear sky now. here's your hour by hour forecast for the day. dress warmly this morning, even by 7:00, 8:00, it's still going to be below freezing. mid 40s by mid afternoon. i'll return with a hometown forecast in ten minutes. breaking news right now. an overturned tractor-trailer is causing big problems on the outer loop. tony tull is live with more. >> reporter: this accident already starting to cause a major backup. take a look right now. this is the outer loop of the beltway by the 270 split. you can see traffic already moving at a crawl. the culprit -- you can take a look right here.

it's this tractor-trailer. crews unloading what we're being told are pineapples. so you can imagine the mess that they are dealing with in there. we talked to the state highway administration. they told us this will not be clear until about 10:00 or 11:00 this morning. they do have one right lane blocked here on the outer loop of the beltway, so if you're heading out this way this morning, make sure you put a lot of time on your commute or take alternate routes. i can tell you they brought in reinforcements. they have brought in quite the amount of highway workers here to assist in the unloading of this tractor-trailer. we're being told that this won't be clear until about 10:00 or 11:00 this morning. danella? >> you mention delays as you make your way towards i-270. let's talk about delays prior to that. you're jammed just path connecticut avenue. if you have to take the beltway, give yourself extra time or you may want to avoid it. may be a good day to take the icc, if you're headed towards

i-270, or cut through the local roads because this is going to be a mess this morning. i want to show you 395 because that earlier crash, it is in your shoulder lane. about a three-mile backup. 395 northbound. from the beltway, you are sluggish all the way from duke street. it will take you about 18 minutes or so to get to the 14th street bridge. back over to you. a new report will be presented to metro's board that cites safety as the primary reason to extend how far new silver line trains will run. the report says the area where trains could turn around at the stadium armory station was too small and couldn't be upgraded to meet ntsb safety standards. silver line cars will now run all the way out to largo town center. the change will cost about $4.6 million in the first year and will reduce the number of orange and blue line trains eliminating new rush plus service on the line. breaking news this morning out of egypt. at least five people have been killed in the streets of cairo after more clashes overnight in front of the palace of president

mohamed morsi. last night, the city saw the worst violence since last month when morsi announced near absolute power. the conflict continues over the proposed constitution drafted by morsi's allies. many fear it would revert the country to an authoritarian government. the syrian military has reportedly begun loading the chemicals for a deadly nerve gas into aerial bombs that could be dropped from dozens of fighter bombers. they're reportedly just waiting on word from president assad to fire. >> our concerns are that an increasingly desperate assad regime might turn to chemical weapons. we have sent a -- an unmistakable message that this would cross a red line, and those responsible would be held to account. >> meanwhile, germany plans to

send 400 soldiers as well as patriot missiles to turkey, syria's border. d.c. police are trying to figure out what led to a stabbing in front of the australian embassy. this happened just after 10:00 last night on rhode island avenue just near scotts circle in northwest. police tell us a man was stabbed in the side. he was conscious and breathing when rescuers took him to the hospital. there's no word this morning on that man's condition or of any arrest. new this morning, d.c. firefighters are trying to figure out what sparked the flames at this apartment building in southeast washington. the fire started around 1:30 along minnesota avenue. no one was hurt. we're told at least three families had to find another place to sleep. also new this morning, at least one person is in the hospital after a condo fire in alexandria. the flames broke out after midnight inside the building along south washington street. we're told at least one person was taken to the hospital with burns and smoke inhalation. the cause of that fire is under investigation. melissa with breaking news.

>> princess catherine has just left the hospital after a week long stay. she was seen just walking out a short time ago with her husband, prince william, smiling and carrying yellow flowers, as you can see here. she was admitted monday for severe morning sickness and dehydration. she is said to be less than 12 weeks pregnant. at the live desk, melissa melay, news4. sign of the season, the national tree lighting takes place tonight. what's different this year? we've got a live report ahead. if you want to stay warm, you may want to watch lighting on television. the chilly forecast. and breaking news on the beltway. a produce truck tipped. how long this is going to be causing some problems. we have weather and traffic on the 1s. >> next, why this look at earth is being called unprecedented.

welcome back. it's the earth like we've never seen it before. nasa just released what it's calling black marble images of the planet at night. you might be familiar with seeing the earth during the day, which is known as blue marble photos. engineers say getting a picture this clear at this time of the day is extremely rare because of cloud cover and seasonal changes. stunning. >> still looks blue to me. but that's great. very nice. time to get a check of weather and traffic. you'll want to listen up because we are in for a cold change. >> tom here with your forecast. good morning. >> we are still in the earth's shadow, the dark side of the earth. we've had a clear sky overnight and a northwest wind. it's cold. most of the region is at our below freezing. in fact, the 20s in much of the area. in northern montgomery county, as we get to the noon hour,

should be around 40 degrees there. for much of the reason later this afternoon, we should be reaching the mid 40s. lots of sun with high clouds coming in. some changes moving in for tomorrow and the weekend. we'll look at that. your seven-day outlook in ten mince. danella has a look at traffic. >> i'm checking breaking news on the beltway. outer loop of the beltway at the split for i 270. you'll see a right lane blocked. we're going to talk delays because it's going to be a mess if you're planning to take the outer loop of the beltway. already you're absolutely jammed as you make your way towards i-270. let's head back over to 395. here there is a crash that's now in your left shoulder lane at duke. and i think it's because of rubber necking because you can see the active accident activity. it is moved to the right shoulder lane, but now an balance or fire truck -- looks like a fire truck just came and is blocking the right lane. if you're traveling northbound 395, you're jammed from edsall past duke. back with another update.

now 37 degrees, why the hall of fame has already comicaling for rg3. plus, a potential breakthrough in the fight against breast cancer and the major side effects that have women troubled. >> and what to expect from this year's national

today the first family will really get into the holiday spirit lighting the christmas tree. megan mcgrath is at the ellipse with a preview of the big ceremony. >> you can see the tree over my shoulder here. it's all decorateding the lights are on, but of course it hasn't been lit yet. they won't be doing that until shortly after 5:00 tonight. this is the 90th annual lighting of the christmas tree, a tradition that was started in 1903. the video that you're seeing here, this was actually from last year's tree lighting. this year, though, folks can expect a few different things. we've got a couple changes here. first of all, the stage has been changed and the location of the stage has been changed as well. they basically shifted it 90 degrees. so you've got this really pretty backdrop now. you've got the tree immediately to the left of the stage and then to the left of that, you have the white house itself, which of course during the time of the big event tonight will be all lit up.

so very beautiful backdrop here. also, the host this year is actor neil patrick harris. and we've got a star-studded lineup. what can we expect in terms of musical performances? take a listen. >> star-studded entertainment this evening. baby face will be here. jason mraz will be here. colbie callait. james taylor will be here. he had a great visit with sound check yesterday and checked out the national christmas tree railroad and the trains around the tree. it's a great family activity. family event. and the talent, spectacular. >> and this is also a new tree. the tree that stood here for decades was destroyed in a wind storm back in 2011. they planted another tree, that died. and they planted this tree back in october. so a new tree. the gates are going to open. at 3:00, you are going to have to pass through security and you have to have a ticket. you can't just show up in order

to be here for tonight's performance. reporting live from the ellipse, megan mcgrath, news4. bark to y back to you in the studio. 17th street will be closed between constitution and new york avenues. the roads will reopen at 7:00. this morning, there is some life changing news for some breast cancer patients. it turns out taking tomaxaphin can be a lifesaver. a study finds that women who took it for five years had a third less chance of dying from the disease, but the new study found their risk was cut in half if they took the drug for ten years. doctors say the finding is significant. >> it's highly significant, so it couldn't be a chance finding. the study had nearly 70,000 women from 36 countries so it's based on big numbers. >> it does have some possible side effects, including hot flashes, blood clots and an increase in endometrial cancer

risk, but many doctors say the risks are not enough to offset the benefits. no bond for the man police say shoved another man to his death at a new york subway station. police say security video shows davis moments before the incident. the 30-year-old apparently got into an argument with hahn on a subway platform monday. police say davis then pushed hahn into the path of an oncoming train. hahn's daughter is trying to understand what happened. >> what's done is done. i don't really want to dwell about what could have happened. i mean, yeah, the thought of something -- the thought of someone helping him up in a matter of seconds would have been great, but yeah, like i said, what happened has happened. >> davis is now charged with second-degree murder. police say he has a criminal past, but mostly only minor charges. this morning, software founder john mcafee is in police custody in guatemala, just hours

after trying to seek political asylum there, authorities arrested mcafee for entering the country illegally. mcafee is known for developing anti-virus software. he was living in belize when named a person of interest in the shooting death of his american neighbor. mcafee fears he'll be killed if he returns for questioning. >> the colorado movie theater part of a mass shooting plans to reopen next year. 12 people died, 58 others were hurt. the theatre has been remodelled since then and the room has been redesigned with fewer seats. the papers revealed holmes had a brief relationship with a graduate student there, but they were not dating at the time of the shooting. the school has not said if it knew of signs if holmes might do something violent. howard county executive ken ullmann is offering up a friendly wager to a prince george's county executive ahead

of the ravens-redskins showdown. >> if you somehow sneak a victory, which i can't imagine happening, even though you got lucky this past week against the giants, i will proudly wear an rg3 jersey for an entire day. >> some fighting words there. ullmann says if the ravens win, he wants baker to wear the jersey of haloti ngata at work on a friday. baker has accepted challenge but says he wants to up the ante and he will reveal his new terms for the deal today. first rg3 got a huge win on monday night. now he is getting a call from the hall of fame. griffin's grass and dirt stainedier seay and cleats from the big win are headed to canton. he ran for 72 yards in that game which helped him break the single season rushing record for a game. he said it is just the first step in a long career.

breaking news now. lest go to the live desk. >> good morning. a senior afghan official says the country's intelligence chief has just been wounded in an assassination attempt. as soon as we get any more information, we'll pass that information along. the district is about to get more help from the federal government for sandy cleanup. president obama has declared a major disaster in d.c., ordering federal aid to supplement recovery efforts in areas affected by the massive storm. the declaration opens up more long-term federal aid. >> time for weather and traffic on the 1s. did you feel the cold as soon as you stepped out? >> how could you not feel it? it was obvious. let's go to tom. >> just 36 hours ago, i saw people jogging in shorts and t-shirts. it was around 7 0 degrees. now it's down below freezing. most of the region, all these areas in blue, west virginia, virginia, maryland, eastern shore in the 20s this morning.

reagan national is at 35. and it's a little bit above freezing on the potomac near the bay. we've got a clear sky. a few whispy high clouds coming in from the north and west. here is your four-day forecast. afternoon highs today into the mid 40s with lots of sunshine and a light wind. and then tomorrow, we'll have a lot of cloudiness around. cold start, afternoon highs near 50 and a small chance of sprinkles and light rain. saturday, only a slight chance of some sprinkles. maybe some fog in the morning. afternoon highs near 60. sunday, a little greater chance of a few sprinkles. otherwise just cloudy in the 50s. milder monday with some showers. cool and dry after that. how is traffic? >> i'm still tracking breaking news. this is the outer loop of the beltway at i-270. just a home ago, they shut the entire outer loop of the beltway down. cars are now getting by, but they had to allow this tractor-trailer to get in. what's happening is there is still an overturned tractor-trailer filled with pineapples. this is going to take some time to clean up. we're going to talk about delays. traveling the beltway already at

colesville road, you're absolutely jammed. today is just not the day to take the beltway. it may be worth it for you to work around the local roads. let's head over to i-395. as you make your way at duke, there's an accident in your left shoulder lane, and then also here, right lane was blocked, but you can see they're moving the flares and allowing the travel lanes to open up. 37 degrees. it's hardly something you expect a 13-year-old to say. >> i found it pretty -- i guess appalling. >> a young activist taking on a popular toy that dates back deca decades. and next, coming clean about [ telephones ringing ]

at chevy's year-end event, we have 11 vehicles that offer an epa-estimated 30 mpg highway or better. yeah? hey. hey. where's your suit? oh, it's casual friday. oh. [ male announcer ] chevy's giving more. this holiday season, get a 2013 malibu ls for around $199 per month, or get $1,000 holiday bonus cash.

the typical household isn't what it used to be. a new study says women spend less than half as much time on house work as they did 50 years ago. the average woman spends just over 18 hours a week on cleaning and house work. that's down from 44 hours in the 1960s. experts say some of that has to do with women holding professional jobs, but also because of new technology that gets the work done faster and frees up people's time. >> there you go. well, an eighth grade girl

cooked up a campaign to take on the maker of the easy bake oven. 13-year-old mckenna pope posted a video on change.org. she says her 4-year-old brother gavin loves to cook, but all the toys are marketed to girls. pope says this is not the message that hasbro should be sending to kids. >> why are women in the kitchen and guys working? that's basically what hasbro is saying. really, this company that i've grown to love so much, would resort to conforming to societal gender roles? like, i don't see why. >> pope hopes her appeal will convince hasbro to make a gender neutral oven in time for christmas. hasbro has not commented on the video. >> they've obviously redone it because it didn't look like that when i was a kid. they can redo it again, i guess. >> 13 years old. making a big case. why today history will be made in maryland.

>> plus, new information out there morning about the federal investigation into mayor vincent gray and the alleged promise made to campaign contributors. creepy or cool? what verizon is looking into putting into homes. >> and the cold is back in

and now, from washington's leading news station, this is "news4 today." >> breaking news in virginia and maryland. problems on the roads. big delays, one trouble spot that just won't clear up, and a pineapple truck that tipped in a really bad place. an update on both straight ahead. but first, good morning to you. welcome back to "news4 today." i'm eun yang. >> and i'm richard jordan. we have you covered on roads, but we start with a chilly change that swept in overnight. take a look at the temperatures. 20s and 30s across the board. >> tom is out on the storm team 4 weather deck. i bet it feels different this morning, tom. >> what an amazing change has occurred. you do need your warmest winter coat. right now around much of the region under this clear sky, we have temperatures that are below freezing. there's the predawn glow over the potomac. a beautiful view there up to the

right. off the screen is venus, and off in the southwestern sky is the silvery half-moon. right now it is in the 20s. just about all of virginia and all of maryland. much of west virginia it's only down to the low 20s. only around 20 degrees in many of those locations. montgomery, arlington, fairfax, prince george's counties are in the upper 20s. and in the district of columbia, away from the potomac, it's also only around 30 degrees. hour by hour today, not much of a warm-up. you'll need your winter coat. by the afternoon, ought to be reaching the upper 40s. sunrise, 7:13. sunset at 4:46. danella with our traffic trouble this morning. >> still tracking the accident on the outer loop of the beltway at i-270. here's what's happening here. your delays really significant right now. here's a live look from chopper 4. the earlier accident, tractor-trailer still on its side. it's filled with pineapples.

crews are unloading pineapples to another tractor-trailer that's on the scene. but look at these delays. i'm going to give you a closer look at colesville road. here's university, jammed here, too. i'm watching new hampshire avenue. they're starting to see delays, but at least they're at a slow crawl. avoid the beltway if possible. let's head to the rails. expect delays because of a disabled train. seeing delays in both directions on the green and yellow line. a big day in maryland as the state begins issuing marriage licenses for same-sex couples. the documents issued today will be post dated as january 1st, 2013. the states attorney general's office is allowing this to avoid a backlog at the first of the year, that's when same-sex marriage will be legal in maryland. a wedding planner we spoke with says the vote last month helped couples better plan their ceremonies. >> they really wanted maryland. they didn't want to go to d.c. they didn't want to go to delaware.

so they were just kind of waiting. i've been doing ceremonies in maryland, but normally they get married in d.c. first and do a big wedding ceremony for family and friends in maryland. >> the process could cause a backlog on marriage licenses today. their computer systems typically don't process post dated documents. parents in fairfax are on alert after a gun was found inside a student's locker. administrators at robinson secondary school notified police and sent a letter to parents yesterday. the students involved have been questioned by police and are facing disciplinary action. police are circulating a flier around prince george's county in efforts of finding a teen's killer. detectives went door to door ini i in lewisdale last night. the boy was with two gang members when he was killed early yesterday morning. a van pulled up to the group and someone from inside that vehicle started firing. a $25,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to an arrest and

conviction. memorial plans are being made for a virginia college student killed in the caribbean. 22-year-old casey schulman was snorkeling last saturday when she was hit by the boat's propeller. she was a senior at the university of virginia and traveling with a semester at sea program. she graduated from stewart high school in falls church in 2009. her family has scheduled a public memorial for saturday morning at 11:00. developing this morning in north korea, we've learned that a planned rocket launch by that country later this month is meant to honor late leader kim jong il. that's according to a former personal chef of kim's. meanwhile, the u.s. navy has started to move several ships in the western pacific and the commander of american troops in japan says that the situation is very dangerous. north korea plans to launch the missile between december 10th and 22nd. a similar launch in april failed shortly after liftoff. this could be a revealing day in court case of an army private accused of giving classified documents to the

website wikileaks. quantico's brig commander is expected to testify today. yesterday a top correctional officer at the marine corps base said bradley manning was kept on suicide watch for a week. the officer said the brig commander did not follow a psychiatrist's recommendation to take manning off suicide watch. it is questioned if manning's case should be dismissed due to excessive punishment while he was con find. the decision in a local courtroom that could change what you write online. plus, the silver line changes being announced today, how it could affect your ride. >> also a major company wants to track your every move and you might actually like it. plus, breaking news on the beltway this morning. a truck packed with pineapples crashed in a really bad spot. and a cold start, but another rebound

at the live desk with some breaking news. a falls church school is going to be closed today because of a sewage leak. no school for students at mary ellen henderson today on thursday. buses will run normal routes to pick up any emergency daycare students. so those kids can still go their normal route. they're beginning to go to the falls church community center instead. no school for mary ellen henderson today. breaking news on the beltway where the situation is improving. an overturned tractor-trailer is back on its wheels, but still causing problems. news4's tony tull is on the scene with more. >> still causing big problems and big traffic delays here on the outer loop by the 270 split. you still see crews unloading that tractor-trailer which was

carryingingi pineapples. they just brought in another tractor-trailer, as danella mentioned, they had to shut down the outer loop here for a couple minutes as they maneuvered that other tractor-trailer in here to unload those pineapples on to another truck. take a live look behind us. you see the traffic moving very slowly here, so if you are headed out this morning and this is your route, you will want to leave a little early or take an alternate route. we'll continue to stay on this. right now over to danella. >> that is definitely going to be a mess. here's another accident on the outer loop of the beltway. at georgia avenue, a report of another crash on the outer loop. i'm sure it's because you're at a dead stop, a crawl. i want to show you right now what new hampshire avenue looks like. they're kind of moving, but the situation is this. avoid the beltway if possible, if you're traveling from new hampshire avenue to i-270, it's a very slow crawl this morning. i also got a report of another accident as you're traveling the outer loop of the beltway.

in prince george's county at exit 2. i'm going to be back with an update on that because it just came in over the scanner. back over to you. new information this morning -- >> on the weather. we've got a big chill coming your way. let's go to tom kierein for details. >> we've got a cold dawn. that's a live view from our city camera overlooking the potomac river. it is down below freezing. all these areas in dark blue are in the 20s, that includes all of west virginia, shenandoah valley, most of northern virginia and most of maryland except right near the waters, it's a little bit above freezing there. elsewhere, it's in the 20s to near freezing. herndon still right around the freezing mark with the bright sunshine. for the lunch hour there, should be around 40 degrees. for the entire region, here's how we're looking for this thursday. highs only reaching the mid to upper 40s. the average high this time of year is 50, so finally december acting like a winter month.

change is on the way for the weekend. that's coming up in ten minutes. new information this morning in the federal probe into mayor vincent gray's 2010 campaign. sources tell "the washington post" some of his campaign staff concealed donations. the "post" cites several people familiar with the fbi probe who say city employees and contractors were promised that their contributions would not be reported. that is against city campaign finance laws. the unreported donations are separate from what investigators call an illegal shadow campaign that raised more than $600,000 for gray. the future of a maryland state delegate seat is once again in a legal battle. greg hall filed an appeal in the case. a judge ruled that neither he or ousted delegate tiffany alstan should get the seat. hall was nominated to replace alston, but governor martin o'malley asked a panel to withdraw his nomination after learning of his criminal past. the judge ruled governor o'malley can pick the next delegate without waiting for a new name to be nominated.

new this morning, d.c. firefighters are trying to figure out what sparked the flames at this apartment building in southeast washington. the fire started around 1:30 around minnesota avenue. fortunately, no one was hurt. we're told at least three families had to find another place to sleep. also new this morning, at least one person is in a-the-hospital after a condo fire in alexandria. the flames broke out after midnight along south washington street. we're told at least one person was taken to the hospital with burns and smoke inhalation. one person suffers serious injuries after a serious car accident in prince george's county last night alg route 197 in laurel. police say two people were ejected from their vehicle after the driver lost control. that shut down route 197 for hours. one person was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. this morning, d.c. police are trying to figure out what led to a stabbing in front of the australian embassy. this happened just after 10:00 last night, just near scotts circle. police tell us a man was stabbed

in the side and was conscious and breathing when they arrived. he was taken to george washington hospital where he is in critical condition. no word this morning on if police have made any arrests. a developing story now out of egypt at 6:45. at least five people have been killed in the streets of cairo after more clashes overnight in front of the pals will of president mohamed morsi. last night, the city saw the worst violence since last month when morsi announced near absolute power. the conflict continues over the proposed constitution drafted by morsi's allies. many fear it would revert the country. the threat of chemical weapons in syria becomes more real. all this after the syrian military becomes more real after they started loading a deadly chemical gas that could be dropped from the sky. today u.s. leaders along with hillary clinton will meet with a top syrian leader in dublin for peace talks. germany plans to send 400 soldiers as well as patriot

missile os the turkey-syria border. the military is reportedly just waiting for word from president assad to fire. meantime, it seems assad may be trying to figure out what to do if he's forced out of the country. it is reported that syria's deputy foreign minister held meetings in cuba, venezuela and ecuador over the past week apparently trying to assure political asylum in latin america if assad is forced to flee syria. with the fiscal cliff approaching, the pentagon is already planning major cuts. if a deal cannot be reached, $500 billion in jobs and programs will be cut. the pentagon spokesman says those cuts could force the defense department to abandon its new military strat george mitchell it's also likely to affect spending, as well as how the military provides for troops and their families. this morning, signs that there may actually be movement on the fiscal cliff talks. kayla is live with that. >> reporter: a little bit of movement potentially. president obama and house speaker john boehner spoke by

phone yesterday as democrats and republicans continue to dig their heels in over this budget standoff. there's been no announcement of any new face the face talks as lawmakers try to reach a deal to avoid the so called fiscal cliff in january. treasury secretary tim geithner tells cnbc republicans have made a little progress, but the obama administration is "absolutely ready to go over the cliff if the gop doesn't agree to raise tax rates on wealthy americans." apple has lost a bit of its shine. the tech giant stock suffering its worst day in four years on thursday. several factors may have been at play. investors worried apple may be giving up ground in the tablet market to rivals, while nokia beat the company to the punch. there are also unconfirmed reports a stock clearinghouse firm is reducing the margin requirements on apple stock. apple lost $35 billion in market value yesterday. to put that into perspective, there are 417 companies listed

on the s&p 500 index that have a market cap below $35 billion, so the jimmer fredet the majority of the s&p is valued at just below what apple lost yesterday. a fairfax county woman will have to remove parts of her negative online review of a home contractor. the ruling was made yesterday. jane perez complained about repairs at her townhouse on yelp and angie's list. she claimed that her jewelry disappeared and that the contractor christopher deitz had the only other key to her home. the judge says that goes too far. >> people have the right to write a review that's honest and truthful. if it's negative and true, that's fair. but when it's negative and untrue, that's not fair. >> perez chose not to talk after the hearing. her lawyer says they are considering filing an appeal. this is a preliminary injunction in deitz's $750,000 lawsuit.

this morning a texting warning about an offer too good to be true. watch out for a text message saying you won a free gift card to a store. recipients are instructed to put in information on a website. you are urge not to fall for this scam. if you get the message, you file a complaint with maryland's consumer protection division. >> verizon is considering new technology that could track your every move. the company is creating a dvr type device that records you inside your home. the idea is to cater tv ads specifically to you, but some think it's more like big brother and crosses the line. many of us already use this technology. >> just the idea that we would all be carrying around gps devices in our pockets, checking in to locations, telling our friends where we are. that would seem creepy five years ago, but now addais everybody's doing it.

>> i just want to fall in front of the tv and not worry about somebody watching me sleep. >> verizon's device could detect cuddling, argue, exercising, perhaps some other things. maybe a pet in the room. then ads would pop up for things like romantic get-aways, relationship counselling, or fl flea treatments. we've got some breaking news. >> princess kate middleton will be resting comfortably at kensington palace for the next couple of days. she left the hospital just a short time ago. take a look at some of the video we have for you. she was walking out with her husband prince william, as you can see there, smiling, carrying yellow roses. she's said to be less than 12 weeks pregnant. i have to say she looks great, guys. you know how it is to be at that point. >> she does look great, though. i hope she's getting the care that she needs and is feeling better. >> yeah, she's carrying

sunflowers in her hands. i'm sure she got many more flowers. >> time to get a check of weather and traffic. we've had some blossoms come out in the last couple of days they were tricked into thinking it was springtime in december. one of our viewers captured this photo of an overanxious forsythia. she posted this to weather@nbcwashington.com. i'm sure it is closed for business now, though. there's the clear sky. that's a forsythia colored dawn. 35 at reagan national. still a blustery wind, but elsewhere mostly have a calm wind, mercifully, because we'd be talking about windchills in the teens if we had much wind at all. temperatures down into the 20s. just about the entire region from the atlantic beaches across the bay and all the way into the mountains we're in the 20s except right on the waters, it's a little bit above freezing. we're going to stay below

freezing for another couple of hours and it's only going struggle to make its way into the 40s by later this afternoon with some high clouds drifting in. so for your morning commute, wear your warmest puffy winter coat. we'll be in the low and mid 30s by 8:00 a.m. with a cold calm conditions and then by your lunch hour, we'll have plenty of sunshine, some high clouds drifting over and temperatures in the low to mid 40s. and then as we get into the evening hours, not quite as cold, perhaps bottoming out near freezing tomorrow morning with increasing clouds. maybe a few sprinkles. slight chance. milder on saturday. a small chance of a sprinkle. maybe some fog in the morning on saturday. on sunday, cloudy, a bit cooler. a little greater chance of maybe a few sprinkles around. a likelihood of some rain as front comes in on monday. and mild after that. how's traffic? >> still a mess on the outer loop of the beltway. i'm following breaking news. it's involving an overturned tractor-trailer filled with pineapples. your right lane is blocked,

i-270, and you can see from chopper 4 there showing you the delays, there are about eight miles long right now. i would just avoid the beltway because crews are expected to clear this accident around 11:00 a.m. it is better to cut through local roads because you are absolutely jammed. i'm going to give you a closer look at new hampshire avenue. this is what the commute looks like all the way to i-270. let's head over, talk about another accident. this is inbound 50 at the beltway. it is blocking your right lane and you're seeing about a pile backup right now on 50 in maryland. shooting over to 295 northbound at bowling air force, crash there involving three vehicles. one still on the scene, and it is blocking your right lane. if you're traveling 295, you're jammed from the beltway all the way to the 11th street bridge. you've seen this for a few mornings now and these delays continue. over to you. >> it is now 6:53. major track work may cause you delays on metro this weekend. the transit agent will cause

five stations on the redline. tacoma, forest spring, wheaton, glenmont will remain closed through sunday evening. safety is the primary reason that metro is extending how far new silver line trains will run. that's according to a new report due to be presented to metro's board this morning. the report says the area where trains could turn around at the stadium armory station was too small and couldn't be upgraded to meet ntsb safety standards. silver line cars will now run all the way out to largo town center. change will cost about $4.6 million in the first year and it will reduce the number of orange and blue line trains, eliminating new rush plus service on the line. it is a holiday tradition for drivers in the district, the traffic caused by the national tree lighting starting at 4:15 this afternoon. 15th street will be closed between pennsylvania and constitution avenues. 17th street will be closed

between constitution and new york avenues. the roads will reopen at 7:00. tonight's event is the 90th annual lighting of the christmas tree. megan mcgrath is live on ellipse now with a preview of the big event. good morning. good morning. it's a tradition that began back in 1923 with then president calvin coolidge. president barack obama and his family are going to continue the tradition tonight. they'll lighting the national christmas tree a little bit after 5:00, once the big event gets under way. this video from last year's event. we're going to see some changes this year, though. of course, the performers, they're all different. the host this year is actor neil patrick harris. other performers include baby face, the fray, jason mraz, james taylor, just to name a few. we also have a new tree this year. the tree that standard on the ellipse for decades, it was actually destroyed in a wind storm back in 2011. they planted a new tree and that one died of shock, and so the tree that we're going to see here tonight is a new tree

planted in october, and again, they're going to be flipping that switch shortly after 5:00 once the performances begin. now, if you have a ticket, and that's key, you have to have a ticket, all of them have been given away at this point. you're going to be allowed to come down and enter through the gates starting at 3:00 this afternoon. keep in mind that you are going to have to pass through security. the president and his family will be here. so security will be tight. so the rule of thumb here is don't bring anything that you couldn't bring into an airport. keep it light. definitely dress warmly. you are allowed to bring blankets. and that is suggested. it's rather cool out here. but gates open at three clk and the event gets under way. the big event at 5:00. back to you. let's find out how big that blanket is going to have to be. >> dress like megan. we're going to have cold weather here throughout the day. by the tree lighting ceremony time, it will only be around 40 degrees. a lot of sun, clouds tomorrow. slight chance of sprinkles and a big milder over the week.

danella, how are we doing now? >> still seeing usual delays around our area, except for the beltway. outer area jammed at 270. reportedly, the driver doesn't have injuries. back over to you. that's going to do it for "news4 today." thanks so much for starting your day with us. >> the "today" show is next. we'll be back in 20 minutes with weather, traffic and breaking news and we're back here tomorrow at 4:28. we'll see you tomorrow.